Edward Van Hohenheim
by SirSquirtle
Summary: (Temporary Hiatus.) When Hohenheim leaves Trisha and his Sons, Edward begs to go with with him. An AU Fic taking place at the same time as Brotherhood. AlphonseXWinry EdwardX?
1. Chapter 1

Edward Van Hohenheim

A/N Hello, people, welcome to my second FanFiction this time about brotherhood, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA Brotherhood, that privilege goes to Hiromu Arakawa not me.

"_Please, don't leave me!" Edward cried out to the blonde middle aged man who was slowly walking away, the man stopped, and Edward ran and grabbed hold of the back of the man's leg._

"_Please, don't leave me." Edward repeated quietly_

"_Edward…" He said softly "You need to stay with your Mother and Al to make sure they're all right, you're the man of the house." Van Hohenheim said to his son._

"_Please!"_

-0-

Edward leaned back on the chair waiting for his Father to finish talking to the people inside. They had spoken of a fat man who had eaten someone, Gluttony Edward mused to himself. It had been ten years since he had left Resembool with his father and learned of the Homunculus known as Father and his plot to effectively destroy Amestris like he had done to Xerxes, the country Hohenheim had been from.

"Edward." Hohenheim said stepping out of the house and making Edward jolt from his thoughts.

"Yes Father?" Edward asked

"I'm afraid I'm going to be sending you on an independent mission for the foreseeable future."

"What is it Father?"

"I need you to warn an Alchemist known by the title of Fullmetal that he is in danger, and that he is a candidate for the Human Sacrifice."

"Warn an Alchemist called Fullmetal. I take it that's a state given title?"

"Yes, I trust you can complete this assignment Edward?"

"I can, I take it you would like me to keep an eye on him for the time being?"

"Indeed, after speaking with some people I can conclude he is in Central, another name of his is the Alchemist of the People."

"Ok Father, should I depart now?"

"Yes, do you have enough for a train ticket?"

"I do, goodbye Father."

-0-

"God damn it!" Fullmetal screamed

"Alphonse!" Denny shouted as he and Maria forced open the door to see Alphonse surrounded by books and Alphonse with his head in his hands.

"You shouldn't get desperate simply because you can't solve it…" Maria tried to reassure Alphonse

"I did solve it," Alphonse said downcast "I solved the code."

"Seriously? That's great!" Denny shouted happily

"Hell no, it's not great!" Alphonse snarled "The Devil's research… Something you mustn't desire…" Alphonse quoted grimly "I resent you Dr. Marcoh…"

"What exactly?" Denny asked

"The ingredients of Philosopher's stones… Are live humans." Alphonse said with a grimace, Maria and Denny where struck dumb at this

"And on top of that, you need several sacrifices just to refine the stone." Alphonse continued bitterly

"I would never have thought something so inhumane was going on in the army…" Denny said

"That's something that can't be forgiven." Maria finished firmly

"Could you please not tell anyone about this?" Alphonse begged

"But…" Denny started

"Please!" Alphonse interrupted loudly "Forget about it."

Suddenly a loud knock on the door startled them out of their grim conversation

"Who is it?" Maria shouted reaching for her Pistol

"My name is Edward Van Hohenheim; I'm here to talk to the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Came a shout from the other side of the door. Alphonse scowled it couldn't be he thought, he nodded and Maria opened the door revealing a medium height teenager with long golden hair braided behind him, he wore a pressed white shirt a green tie and a pair of slacks. However the thing that got Alphonse was his golden eyes.

"You…" Alphonse hissed at him, Edward frowned

"Alphonse?" Edward asked hesitantly, Alphonse launched himself forward and punched his brother in the jaw.

"God damn it. What the hell was that for?" Edward said getting to his feet and rubbing his jaw.

"You bastard!" Alphonse said running forward again, Edward rolled his eyes and a sparks of red light danced around the floor causing a wall of rock to block his path.

"What?" Alphonse said shocked, Edward rolled his eyes as he transmuted the rock wall away without moving.

"Now, I need to tell you a couple of things-"

"Why the hell are you here?" Alphonse snarled

"I'm getting to that." Edward said calmly

"Where were you at Mother's funeral, did you not love her?"

"Of course I did half-wit," Edward snapped "Now, listen. Alphonse, you are in a great amount of danger. Forces beyond your comprehension want you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alphonse snapped back at him

"You are a candidate for Human Sacrifice." Edward said, immediately all the colour drained from Al's face.

"H-Human sacrifice?" He asked

"Yes, the Homunculi will attempt to use you for something."

"Homunculi?" Alphonse asked

"It doesn't matter; I'm going to be in Central for a while, so contact me if you get in trouble."

"You don't go be the name Elric." Alphonse observed

"Is this really the time for this Brother?"

"I'm not your Brother," Alphonse snapped "And yes there is time for this. Hey what are you doing?" He shouted as Edward picked up one of Marcoh's notebooks.

"Tim Marcoh, ex Crystal Alchemist, he died or ran away from the Military years ago, he writes cookbooks now?" Edward said a tad incredulously

"Or is it a code for his research? Alphonse you aren't looking up Philosopher's stones are you?" Edward said in a warning tone

"Yes I am." Alphonse responded petulantly

"Stay away from them, they're bad business, what do you want with one anyway?" Edward asked his eyes narrowed

"To get back my arm." Alphonse said irritated

"Ah… Automail, how did you lose it?"

"Human Transmutation." Alphonse said rolling his eyes, Edward slowly turned on him

"What?" He said darkly

"Human Transmutation" Alphonse said again slowly like he was speaking to a child.

"Why in god's name did you attempt Human Transmutation?" Edward exploded

"To bring back our Mother. You know the one who you seemed not to give a damn about!" Alphonse responded at an equal volume.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Denny said to Maria

"About family stuff probably. Who the hell knew Fullmetal had a Brother." Maria said

"God, you are so infuriating!" Edward shouted turning to leave

"Why did you not come back with Dad, Mother missed you two so much." Alphonse whispered

"We needed to do something very important Al, we still do. But I promise I'll come back with you when this is over." Edward said his eyes softening

"Just go." Alphonse said tiredly, Edward nodded and walked out.

-0-

"What… Alphonse Elric has locked himself in his room again today?" Armstrong rumbled

"Yes they haven't eaten much either." Denny said worriedly

"Perhaps he was really tired?" Armstrong mused "Seems they've been working extremely hard these past few days, too." Armstrong nodded, Maria beckoned Denny in

"I mean if _that's _what he found after all that difficult deciphering…" Maria whispered

"Even I start feeling sick when I start thinking about it." Denny whispered back

"What is it?" Armstrong boomed

"N-Nothing!" Denny and Maria said in unison waving their hands

"Sounds fishy!" Armstrong shouted looming over them, his eyes appearing to be glowing red and the fires of hell burning behind his naked upper body

"The fan whirred slowly above his bed as Alphonse lay pondering. He felt hungry but couldn't bring himself to go and get food

This is tough. It's like right when you get within arm's reach, it runs away… and when you finally grab it, it kicks you down. God must really hate humans who have committed taboo. I wonder if I'll be like this for the rest of my life… Alphonse thought to himself, caught in a web of depression. He jolted up when a loud bang rang against the door.

"Alphonse Elric! You're there, aren't you! It's me open up!" Armstrong boomed pounding on the door; Alphonse rolled his eyes and ignored him. Suddenly, the door broke open, the handle clutched tightly in Armstrong's hand Armstrong radiated sparkles as he looked at Alphonse.

"I heard the whole story, Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong shouted, Denny and Maria behind him staring in shock at the broken door

"What a tragedy!" Armstrong Yelled the sparkles number increasing as tears fell in torrents from his scrunched up eyes "To think that such a horrifying secret was behind beneath the Philosopher's stone!" He lamented. Alphonse glared daggers at the bashful Denny and Maria who looked apologetic

"S-Sorry…" Maria muttered

"Not much we could do when such a smothering person approaches you…" Denny said quietly

"To think the Military had been doing such a thing… The truth can be cruel at times!" Armstrong cried still sparkling and crying simultaneously.

"Truth…" Alphonse said slowly remembering Marcoh's words to him at the station

"_You may be able to reach the real truth that is beyond the truth…"_

"The real truth beyond the truth, it's the same as a research document for Alchemy. What can be seen from the outside is only a portion of the truth… There's still something else!" Edward shouted victoriously

"Something…" Armstrong mused; he then reached into his back pocket and unfolded a huge map of Central ignoring the strange looks his subordinates were giving him.

"There are currently four Alchemy research laboratories owned by the government within Central. The one Dr. Marcoh belonged to is Research Laboratory three he said pointing to it on the map.

"It is the most suspicious." He announced

"I went to every research lab in the city, but that one wasn't particularly…" Alphonse said, suddenly his eyes widened "This. What's this building?" Alphonse said pointing to a laboratory that said Fifth Laboratory (Closed) and crossed out in red

"That would be research Laboratory five, but it's not being used right now," Maria clarified "No one is allowed to enter it due to collapse." She said

"This is the place." Alphonse said firmly

"What makes you say that?" Denny asked confused

"There's a prison right next to it." Alphonse said grimly

"And?" Denny asked

"Do you remember what's needed to created Philosopher's stones?"

"Umm… Wasn't it live humans? Oh god!" Denny said coming to the same conclusion Alphonse had

"There are bound to be people on the death row at the prison." Alphonse said "They tell the public they were executed, and…" Alphonse stopped letting the macabre implication linger in the air.

"Don't tell me… The prisoners are the ingredients?" Maria asked looking ill

"Don't make that face." Alphonse said trying to lighten the mood "I don't want to think about it either.

"The prison is under a different jurisdiction, but if it's involved… Does this mean the government has something to do with it? I feel like I've stuck my nose in something horrible…" Maria said

"That's why I asked you to forget about it!" Alphonse shouted incredulously

"This may turn into a political matter." Armstrong warned "I'll look into it. However, until then, the Second Lieutenant and the Sergeant are not to speak of it!" Armstrong ordered Maria and Denny

"Yes sir!" They both saluted

"You had better not do anything, either." Armstrong said addressing Alphonse, who flinched at this

"You were thinking of sneaking into the building to check it out, weren't you?" Armstrong yelled eyes seeming to flash red again and twin gouts of steam burst from his nostrils

"I wasn't! I wasn't!" Alphonse cowered; Armstrong nodded and walked outside, Denny and Maria trailing behind him.

-0-

Edward stood on the roof of the Inn Alphonse was staying in, then he heard him shout that he was and descend from the window, Edward trailed him on the roof tops, his Alchemy making platforms beneath him jut out from buildings he leapt from as Alphonse ran silently through the streets. When they got to their destination Alphonse his round a corner.

"A guard at an unused building, eh?" Alphonse mused to himself, he then took a breath, then with a run up he leapt at the wall, scrambling up it, his right arm grabbing onto the barbed wire, he then landed and instantly set off, running silently towards the door, when he got there he saw the door locked tightly, chains and padlocks keeping it closed. Alphonse frowned, he scanned the wall and saw an air vent he smiled, he then removed the grille on it and boosted himself in and wriggled into the vent completely, he then commando crawled further into the vent.

-0-

"66."

"What, 48?"

"Our first guest in quite a while."

"What a reckless dumbass."

-0-

Alphonse grunted, it was extremely uncomfortable crawling through the tight claustrophobic space, his non- Auto mail arm ached as he banged it on the metal vent again and again.

"This is narrower than I'd thought, dammit." Alphonse said to himself, when he finally got to the end, he kicked the grille out and dropped through, landing with bent knees, his eyes scanned the corridor and saw lights lighting up the sides of the walls.

"The lights are on. Not being used right now my ass. Bingo" Alphonse said with a smug smile.

-0-

Edward dropped down into the courtyard of the laboratory silently; his eyes homed in on the grille of air vent lying discarded on the floor. He approached it getting ready to climb through after his estranged brother, he heard the harsh scraping over metal on stone and he looked up sharply, he saw an iron clad warrior on the roof of the building. Who descended with a battle cry and a glinting blade.

Edward side stepped the blade and ducked back as the warrior slashed at him with what appeared to be butchers cleavers he leapt back, as the cleaver imbedded in the ground.

"You're pretty good for a kid." The man complemented

"Who are you?" Edward asked calmly

"I'm Number 66. That's just my work name, though." He crossed his cleavers "But enough of that, I'll slice you up. So go ahead and wail!"

And with that he launched himself at Edward swinging wildly, Edward responded with a grin.

-0-

The first thing Alphonse saw as he entered the room was an Alchemic Array, splattered with old and dried blood at the focal points.

"What the heck is this? Could it be what's used to transmute Philosopher's stones?" Alphonse said to himself

"Precisely," Said an eloquent voice from the far side of the room "I don't know who you are, but I'm amazed you figured that out just looking at the transmutation circle, boy." Said a man in a suit of armour from the other side of the room

"Who are you old man?" Alphonse said coldly suspicious of the other person.

"My duty is to guard this area. I suppose I'll introduce myself as Number 48. And I'm not an old man, either. I've been instructed to eliminate any outsiders who have infiltrated the building. Don't think badly of me boy." The armoured guard said calmly

"Same goes for you…" Alphonse replied indifferently he clapped his hands and formed a staff from the ground. "Don't take it too badly when you get beaten by a _Boy_." Alphonse grinned

"An Alchemist, Huh." Suddenly, the Guard was upon Alphonse moving at a speed completely ignoring the fact he was dressed in heavy armour. "Let's see how good you are." He said looking deep into Alphonse's shocked face; he then swiped down causing Alphonse to duck out of the way. He then slashed from the left causing Alphonse to try and block with his staff, unfortunately for Alphonse the blade cut through the staff like butter, the guard then thrust forward.

"Looks like that your Alchemy saved your life!" Roared the guard "But my beloved sword can easily cut through your creations. Alphonse recognised the stab as a feint and angled his arm, when the Guard adjusted the blade into a slice, it glanced of Alphonse's Automail, as the Guard's sword raised he fired a fast kick into the man's torso, knocking him back. However, Alphonse frowned.

"Is your armour empty?" Al asked intrigued

"I'm amazed you figured it out." The Guard said impressed

"Your armour was too light." Alphonse explained "But I don't like this. That there's some idiot came up with the idea of affixing a soul to a suit of armour." Alphonse said darkly

"Allow me to introduce myself my work name is 48. However when I still had a body I was called Slicer the Homicide" Slicer said grandly

"Death row, just as I thought," Alphonse said smugly "Hey, this place makes Philosopher's stones out of criminals on death row, right?"

"That, I cannot answer, I was simply hired here for my skills, given this body, and stationed here as a watchdog.

"Which, if my hypothesis on how you operate is correct, there's a blood seal somewhere that mediates the soul and the armour." Alphonse said excitedly

"Very astute." Slicer commended, he pulled of the piece of cloth from around his Hemet, before lifting the visor and revealing a complex Blood seal.

"This seal of blood… If you destroy it, you win."

"You're awfully kind to let me in on your weakness." Alphonse said sceptically

"I'm the type that seeks thrills in fighting."

"Since you're so kind, want to let me go?" Alphonse said with a grin, "Was that worth a try?" Alphonse asked sarcastically

"Do you really think a murderer is just going to let his prey get away?" Slicer asked. He took a tighter grip on his blade "Here I come!" He shouted, with his eyes gleaming Slicer sprinted at Alphonse, with incredible speed. Alphonse with a sabre clutched in his right hand ran forward to meet him. With a burst of sparks, the blades slammed into each other, sending shock down the blades into the owners arms, the volley of slashes continued, until Alphonse felt a click in his arm.

"Huh something doesn't feel right in my shoulder…" Alphonse whispered he was swiftly shocked back into reality however by the singing of Slicer's sword whizzing above his head. Slicer slashed down aiming to cut Alphonse in half. However, Alphonse cartwheeled back to avoid. He suddenly remembered Winry's Lecture on how his arm would be lighter but much less durable. He came to the realisation that his arm had a good chance of breaking if he wasn't careful. He sprinted forward slashing with the sabre clutched tightly in his hand, he ducked and weaved to avoid Slicers attacks and countered with his own. However for all of the skill of the two opponents, the fight appeared to be a stalemate, until Slicer let out a volley of slashes, managing to make a shallow cut on Alphonse's arm and nearly impaled him after.

"I haven't had this much fun in ages. But with your wounds and fatigue the outcome is clear. My companion should have disposed of your companion by now."

"Companion?" Alphonse asked

"The Boy with the same colour hair as you in the shirt and tie." Slicer said

A/N And that's it, quite a long chapter but fun to write.

This is horribly cannibalised from the original brotherhood text but soon I will have broken free from Canon and can create my own inane plot devices. (Obligatory evil laugh)

Bwa ha ha ha.

Please remember if you have any comments, criticisms or just want to tell me how your Wednesday went, let me know in a review.


	2. Chapter 2

CH 2

A/N

Hello, welcome to chapter two of my new Fanfic, this one will probably be (Hopefully) much longer than my other one so please enjoy.

"Number 66?" Edward asked easily dodging the flurry of blows from the guard

"Dammit, stay still and let me cut you, Goldilocks!" He shouted as he ran at Edward who stepped aside and fired a hard kick at 66's helmet, knocking it off entirely, revealing the armour to be empty.

"That body…C Edward said, his eyes widening

"Actually, let me tell you a story. You've heard of him haven't you? A middle-aged man by the name of Barry. A long, long time ago, there was a middle-aged man here in Central named Barry who loved to cook. Barry loved to cut up meat. However one day, it got to the point where he couldn't satisfy himself with beef and pork, so he started to go out into the city during the night to cut up humans. Barry was eventually caught, bu-"

"Barry the Chopper." Edward said with disgust

"You know of me, I thought you would have been a bit young back then to have heard of me."

"I was nine years of age, my Father and I helped with investigating you, so you might as well say, I was a factor in your capture." Edward baited him

"You. I was placed in this armour thanks to you?" Barry asked quietly

"Yes." Edward said waiting for an angry outburst

"Well… I suppose I have to thank you." Barry said happily

"What?" Edward said finding him shocked again today an experience he had never liked

"Yes. Thanks to you, it's even easier to kill people

"Don't move! This place is restric-"The human guard got no further in his sentence as a butcher's cleaver thrown from Barry's expert hand buried itself in his face

"You see? I love killing humans! I love to kill, and I can't get enough of it! I was placed on this Earth to kill" Barry shouted, taking twisted pleasure from killing the guard. Edward nodded amicably and suddenly a flicker of red sparks danced around Barry's feet, he was then encased knee deep in solid rock.

"I have a few tricks of my own Tin Man." Edward said coldly

-0-

"So, you have no idea who the other intruder is?" Slicer asked slightly confused

"Shirt, tie and blonde, I may have some idea." Alphonse said with an odd look on his face."

"Is he strong?" Slicer asked curiously

"I have no idea." Alphonse said a hint of sadness surrounding his words

"Then I had better defeat you quickly just to be on the safe side."

"Now!" Alphonse shouted

"What!" Slicer exclaimed whirling around to confront the new enemy. As he did so Alphonse lunged at him slashing his sabre viciously at the helmet containing the blood seal, Alphonse guessed it could immobilise him if it wasn't connected to his body.

"How foul!" Slicer snarled

"I'm truly sorry." Alphonse apologised dropping his sabre

"What's wrong? My blood seal isn't broken yet," Slicer asked puzzled "Just hurry up and dest-" Alphonse cut him off and lifted the helmet.

"There's something I want to ask you." Alphonse said

"About the Philosopher's stone? Slicer asked

"Spill everything you know." Alphonse demanded

"No can do."

"Come on, I beat you, I don't want to fight you anymore." Alphonse pleaded

"I… haven't lost yet." Slicer said ominously. Alphonse glanced behind him and saw Slicer's armour getting ready to stab him, Alphonse tried to dodge but Slicer got a long medium depth cut along Alphonse's chest.

"What?" Alphonse said his eyes widening with pain and confusion

"Oh, I forgot to mention it. Slicer the Homicide… Was actually a duo of Brothers."

"Oh you conveniently forgot when you went on your spiel about how you revealed your weakness because you like the thrill of fighting when you had a contingence plan the whole time!" Alphonse growled clutching his wound.

"Coming from the one who tried to behead me when I was distracted." Slicer said indignantly

"You should have had more… Constant vigilance!" Alphonse shouted

"You were the one a suit of armour snuck up on. Anyway I'm not having this argument. Let's go round two, Alchemist. Slicer said. Alphonse nodded and began to clap his hands when he noticed Slicer barrelling at him.

"Whoa, I'm not going to give you time for a Transmutation!" Slicer yelled

"Shit, I've lost too much blood," Alphonse cursed as he acrobatically dodged more of Slicer's graceful slashes, "I'm starting to feel dizzy…" Alphonse was panicking now; if he didn't end this fight quickly there was a very real chance of Slicer killing him. Slicer hit Alphonse hard with the flat of his blade knocking him sprawling.

"This is bad…" Alphonse said as Slicer ran at full pelt towards him holding his blade out to the side.

"I'm going to die." Edward realised as Slicer angled the blade towards his face. Someone came to mind, Alphonse envisioned a dark skinned man with, dark glassed. With a smile Alphonse clapped his hands, his eyes fogging up he imagined a tattooed arm bearing down on him instead of a blade.

Alphonse leapt forward, with a crackle of blue lightning and a smell of ozone, Alphonse deconstructed the armour that bore down on him, it flew back shattered beyond repair.

"Dammit, making me remember him." Alphonse shivered slightly as the killer faded into his memories

"I just used his power." Alphonse realised

"You've gone and done it now, Brat!" One of the Slicer Brother's yelled furiously at him waving his arms limply

"God that's mentally scarring!" Alphonse said as he crawled back as far as he could away from the Armour

"Brother!" The first Slicer Brother shouted to the second "It's shameful, but we lost." He conceded with a sigh

"There aren't any more of you are there?" Alphonse muttered

"No, no." One of the Brothers assured him

"Just destroy us already, boy." The other Brother commanded

"I'm not going to murder a person." Alphonse responded indignant that someone would say such a thing

"You consider us Human?" One of the Slicer brothers' replied shocked

"Why would I not? You would have once had a Mother, a Father and other family; you once lived and breathed like the rest of us. Put it this way- During my Alchemy training I was dumped on an Island with no one else. I had a hard enough time killing a rabbit, how would I kill a person?" Alphonse asked

-0-

How did you do that, you Alchemists need a Transmutation circle to do your Voodoo, you can't just make it happen." Barry said annoyed with the blonde Alchemist

"I have no sympathy for Murderers." Edward said walking closer his hand outstretched as rock crept up Barry's form.

-0-

"When I was young, my Brother and my Father left my Mother and I, soon after my Mother died, they didn't return even then, I was forced to give up my childhood and join the Military, even now I would rather die myself than let my big Brother die, so why would I kill you, someone who was following orders and other than that has done nothing to me." Alphonse said

"Brother? We have been stealing, destroying and killing ever since we came of age, and sure this kid is extremely Naïve, but now we're being treated as Humans for the first time, after being turned into this?"

"Interesting," The first Slicer Brother said "You know what, I'll tell you everything as a parting gift, Boy. The one who created the Philosopher's stone and told us to guard this place was-" Suddenly two razor sharp tendrils shot across the room impaling the first Slicer through the blood seal instantly destroying the Link between his soul and his vessel. Alphonse's eyes widened, he looked over to the source and saw and saw an absolutely gorgeous woman. She smiled her ruby lips forming a smile.

"That was close she said." In a relieved tone, the tendrils retracted and the helmet flew to her hand, almost like the tendrils where her nails. Alphonse thought not completely finished processing what the hell just happened.

"You can't be talking about things like that, 48." She said still smiling, then a muscled strange looking teenager appeared from the shadows.

"Huh? What's the Fullmetal runt doing here? What a troublesome child. How did you find out about this place?" The teenager asked

The helmet split in half with a crack.

"Brother! Brother?" The other Slicer yelled in despair "Brother!" His screams were cut off by the teenager stabbing him in the Blood seal with his own blade.

"You're so annoying, Dumbass!" The teenager yelled "You guys were about to kill a precious Sacrifice! Don't you understand! What were you gonna do if you screwed up the plan? Huh?! " The teenager yelled again causing Slicer's arms to flail madly, when the flailing stopped, the teenager hefted the blade onto his shoulders and stepped carefully over the now motionless armour. Alphonse struggled to his feet as the two unknowns walked towards him.

"Who the hell are you two?! Alphonse roared "What Plan? What do you mean sacrifice?"

"Oh this runt is ready to go." The teenager asked mockingly

"Envy!" Came a bellow from the other side of the room, everyone turned to look; standing there was Edward a furious look on his face.

"Shit." Envy muttered

"Get the hell away from my little Brother, you to Lust!" Edward shouted

"Come on Envy." Lust said, "It'll be trouble if the runt comes back let's burn it down." She said

"Last chance." Edward warned red sparks beginning to appear on the floor.

-0-

Barry hauled himself off the ground, where Edward had thrown him, he walked over and went to pull out the cleaver that was imbedded in the dead guard's forehead. He sighed, said sigh morphed into a scream as a bullet hole appeared in his hand.

"Huh?!" He yelled looking down

"Don't move!" shouted Maria who had appeared with Denny, both of whom now pointing their weapons at Barry, "Just surrender." She continued

"This isn't good…" Barry trailed off. The ground then started shaking, a giant chunk of Laboratory five fell, and the entire building started to collapse.

"Sergeant… Evacuate!" Maria shouted

"Well, this leaves me with no choice." Barry said determined not to die after his lucky break with the Alchemist "I guess I'll just get out of here!" He shouted fleeing "Hey you guy's better run too." He parted

"Hey!" Denny shouted at his fleeing form

"Come on. We can only hope for Alphonse now." Maria said sadly. Red sparks dance around the wall and a hole transmuted open, revealing Edward, his tie crooked and his shirt slightly tattered with Alphonse slung over his arm.

"Hey, thanks for coming!" He shouted with a grin to Denny and Maria. He gently passed Alphonse over to Denny.

"He shouldn't be in trouble, but he took some bad wounds, so you may want to get him to a hospital." Edward said he considered for a second before continuing "I'll see him there soon, but keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't do anything reckless."

"It's Edward isn't it? You're his brother." Maria said to him

"Yeah, but go, he's still bleeding." And with that Edward walked away. Maria nodded to Denny, and together they grabbed him and ran leaving the building to collapse.

-0-

Alphonse lay in his hospital bed feeling quite annoyed, not only had he had to be rescued by his Brother, said Brother had also broken his Automail completely when he carried him out.

"Looks like you're able to get up now." Maria said with a smile

"What happened to Research Laboratory five?" Alphonse asked bluntly

"About that…" Maria said slowly "It was blown up by someone and has been completely destroyed…"

"Dammit! It's all gone?!" Alphonse yelled in disbelief, he clutched his stomach as pain shot through it causing him to wince. "I was so close to the 'truth', too! I can't be sitting in a hospital like this!" Alphonse yelled. Ignoring Alphonse's theatrics Maria and Denny nodded to each other.

"Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist!" The yelled in unison "We apologize for the rudeness in advance!" They continued

"Huh?" Alphonse said bewildered by what the hell they were doing. Maria then brought her hand round in a slap causing a loud noise as she struck his cheek. Maria and Denny tensed as Alphonse swayed from side to side his eyes wide.

"Doing whatever you wanted… If things would have gone badly, you would have died. Instead of trying to do everything by yourself, rely on the people around you! If it wasn't for your Brother you would be buried under a collapsed building!" She shouted, then her voice cracked and her face softened, "It wouldn't hurt to trust your elders, don't you think?" She said. Alphonse's head was lowered, his hair covering his eyes.

"That is all!" Denny and Maria shouted in unison again "Please forgive our rude language and violence toward a higher ranking officer, sir!" They finished tensing as they awaited punishment.

"N-No… My fault" Alphonse said softly

"Punishment… for the slap, Sir?" Maria asked

"No, I wouldn't dream of it!" Ed said shocked at the suggestion. Maria and Denny let out a huge sigh of relief, and Maria leant on a wall for support.

"Why do you guys try to be so considerate around me?" Alphonse asked mystified

"Because Edward," Came a voice from the door "You being a state Alchemist, means you equal the rank of Major in the Military. They all looked and saw Edward wearing a new shirt and a new tie.

"Sorry about your Automail." He said bashfully

"Who gave you permission to come here?" Alphonse asked shocked

"You've adopted some of my old mannerisms." Edward noted with a small smile

"You didn't answer my question." Alphonse said his voice getting louder

"Alphonse I'm here to offer you a deal, I let you ask me as many questions as you want, in exchange, you let me try to patch up my relationship with you." Edward said softly

"Fine…"

A/N

Well that's it the end of Chapter two, if anyone's curious I haven't given up on From Battlefield to Highschool.

Anyway please leave impressions in a review. Until next time SirSquirtle.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Alphonse looked at the phone with trepidation, he had to make the call but it didn't make it any easier.

"Who are you going to call?" A voice said from over Alphonse's shoulder

"Winry." Alphonse answered

"Why?" Edward said puzzled

"She's been my mechanic ever since that night." Alphonse said quietly

"Ah, well why the hesitation."

"She's… She's good with a wrench." Alphonse whispered

"Ah." Edward said delicately

"After you broke my Automail."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Would you like me to make the call?" Edward offered, Alphonse's eyes widened

"You will?" He asked hopefully

"Yeah sure, just put the number in." Edward said, Alphonse nodded enthusiastically and dialled the Rockbell Surgery number, after the dial tone a voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hello, Winry Rockbell speaking."

"Hello Miss Rockbell." Edward said adopting a business like tone

"Are you calling to enquire about having Automail fitted?" Winry asked

"No, I'm calling on behalf of another of your customers." Edward continued

"Oh, and who would that be?" Winry asked curiously

"A certain Alphonse Elric." Edward said

"Has something happened? Are you calling on behalf of the Military?" She asked panicking

"My name is Edward Van Hohenheim. And Alphonse is quite all right. However, as a result of a slight misadventure, his Automail was broken… By me." Edward said

"Hohenheim? Are you Alphonse's uncle, you have the same name as his Brother."

"No, I am his Brother."

"You." She said angrily

"Miss Rockbell, I assure you that I have improved relations with my Brother to a gre-"

"You abandoned Alphonse and Trisha!" Winry shouted

"Miss Rockbell, Alphonse needs you to travel to Central city as his Automail has broken… I wonder, does it break often. Because if it does then he may need to contact another mechanic." Edward said slipping a hint of teasing into his voice.

"You!" Winry shouted again

"Alphonse is in the Military Hospital, I'm sure the Military would be happy to refund your train ticket and other travel expenses in order to get a valuable State Alchemist on his feet again." Edward suggested slyly

"Fine tell him, I'll be up by tomorrow." She said still annoyed, and with a click she hung up.

"There you go little Brother nothing to it." Edward said with a smile

"Whatever, also you promised me answers." Alphonse said slightly impatiently

"And you promised, we'll try and re-establish our 'Brotherhood' so tell you what, I'll take you out for Lunch, and I'll give you answers then. Ok?" Edward suggested

"You know that my arm is completely busted, right?" Alphonse said slowly

"I was aware after by shouted at by your mechanic." Edward said with a smile

"Yeah fine if the nurse says it's ok.

-0-

"So Alphonse, what do you want?" Edward asked

"I don't know, steak?" Alphonse suggested

"Yeah," Edward shrugged and beckoned the waiter over "Sir, my Brother here will take a Prime cut Steak, and I'll take the fish dish off the day, along with a glass of Milk, Alphonse what would you like for a drink?"

"Er… Water please." Alphonse said after the waiter had left, Alphonse looked at Ed

"You like Milk?" He said in shock

"God no," Edward said with a slight shudder "However, I understand the usefulness of the Calcium it contains."

"What happened to you?" Alphonse said in shock

"Like you, certain facts of life forced me to mature at a much faster rate than most other people in our age group," Edward said a slightly glazed look in his eye "Now," He said suddenly all business again "what is it you want to know?" He asked

"A few things: What did you mean by Human Sacrifice, Who or what were them people, and what were you and Dad doing that was so important?"

"Alphonse, you must understand that you are simply not ready for some things. However, I will tell you as much as I feel I can. Right, let's start with Who the people were in Laboratory five, They were Homunculi, or Artificial Humans, the two you saw were known as Envy and Lust, they are two extremely powerful beings and must be approached with great caution, Envy, is also known as 'Cobbled together' Envy and has the power to change shape at will, so it is important that you are careful who you trust, and Lust, who is known as the Ultimate Spear, her ability is to lengthen and shorten her diamond hard finger nails at will. And as with all Homunculi they have miraculous healing powers, to the extent of re-growing lost limbs." At this Alphonse perked up considerably

"Re-growing lost limbs?" He questioned

"Alphonse, you do not want to follow that path, it would only lead to disappointment and loneliness." Edward assured him

"How do you know?" Alphonse said bitterly

"Please Brother; just trust me on this one." Edward said, after a moment of consideration Alphonse nodded

"Fine, now what is meant by Human Sacrifice?"

"Our Father has not told me all that much about that, he told me however that several people who have either seen the gate or have been affected by other circumstances are required for a scheme by the source of the Homunculi."

"The source?" Alphonse questioned

"Later." Edward said

"Fine, and finally what were you and Dad doing that was so important that meant you had to stay away? And why didn't you come back for Mother's funeral?"

"The initial reason Dad left was because he is immortal." Edward said grimly

"I-Immortal?" Alphonse stuttered

"Yes, he did not want to live with his family if they would grow older while he remained his current age."

"R-Really?"

"Yes, and then his purpose changed," Edward's expression darkened "We found out of a plot, that incorporates everyone in Amestris and we vowed we would stop it as ultimately the responsibility for the plan fell to Dad. However, the reason we did not return to for Mother's funeral was simple ignorance followed by time."

"Brother?"

"Yes Alphonse?" Edward asked

"I don't think I'll ever really be able to forgive you and Dad." Alphonse said, Edward nodded at this

"However, there's nothing stopping me from trying."

"Alphonse, you have no idea how proud of you I am. I think that if I was in your position, I would hold on to silly misguided hatred, and would not even give half chance."

"I always was more mature than you." Alphonse joked

"Whatever you say, Alphonse" Edward said with a roll of his eyes

"And I'm better at Alchemy now." He said with a grin

"Oh really?" Edward said intrigued

"Are you going to reveal how you became the youngest State Alchemist?"

"Fine." Alphonse grinned, he picked up a glass and placed it in front of him, and then with a clap of his hands he transmuted the glass into a glass statuette.

"Gate enhanced Alchemy," Edward said with a nod, he picked up the statuette and examined it, he whistled, "Very good, Alphonse its good craftsmanship. However, I'm still better." Edward said with a smile, he placed the glass statuette and without any visible action, and a burst of red sparks the Statuette was transmuted back into a glass.

"H-How in God's name did you do that, and why is your Alchemic Discharge red?" Alphonse asked in a state of shock

"Several painful processes that our Father helped me through." Edward said with a pained grimace

"Could I?" Alphonse started

"No! God no. Alphonse you do not want this, it comes with a terrible price and an incredible burden, I wouldn't wish it on anyone." Edward said seriously

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Could you call me, Al?" Alphonse said quietly

"Of course Alph- Al," Edward said with a smile "So enough about me, tell me about yourself." Edward said, both he and Alphonse determined to lead the conversation away from doom and gloom.

"Well, In my State Alchemist exam I transmuted a spear and pretended to attack the Fuhrer." Alphonse said with a smile, Edward stared at him shocked and then burst out laughing

"Wow, Al that takes guts."

"Yeah, I ring Granny Pinako and Winry a lot. Winry is my only real friend my age at the moment." Alphonse said

"So, you and Winry?" Edward said slyly

"What?" Alphonse asked puzzled, then he caught what Edward was suggesting "No!" He shouted blushing crimson

"But she would be perfect for you, and remember you won her hand I marriage fair and square."

"What?"

"Remember when we were young, you and I got into a fight about who would marry Winry." Edward said with a laugh

"Oh yeah," Alphonse said with wonder "Not that, that means anything." He hurriedly added

"Sure." Edward said sarcastically

"So Brother, what about you, do you have anyone in your life?" Alphonse teased back, Edward's eyes clouded over, as he stared into space

"Possibly." He said with a shrug snapping out of it

"Ooh, do tell." Alphonse said intrigued

"Maybe someday Al, but not today." Edward said with a smile

"Sir, your food." Said the waiter bringing the food

"Thanks," Edward said to the waiter who gave a short bow before walking away "Dig in." He said to Alphonse who nodded eagerly and dug into his steak with relish

"Hungry?" Edward asked with a grin

"Slightly…" Alphonse said slightly embarrassed

"It's fine." Edward said carefully cutting his fish

"What changed you so much Brother? When we were together you ate like this all the time."

"I was given a lot of responsibility, Father made sure I was responsible, he also impressed the virtues of courtesy and love of a good drink on me.

"But you're fifteen!" Alphonse protested

"Yes. However, that does not stop me from having a glass of something or other with my meal does it?" Edward said sagely

"Whatever," Alphonse said with a roll of his eyes "So Brother, are you staying with me?"

"Yes, until Father comes to give me another mission I will stay with you."

"Another mission?"

"Yes, we have done a lot over the years, at the Fifth Laboratory there were guards who were suits of armour with souls bound to them."

"Yes, I fought a suit of armour that contained the soul of the Slicer Brothers."

"I fought a guard known as Barry the Chopper, Myself and our Father were important factors in his capture, that kind of thing really." Alphonse nodded understanding, and the two brothers lapsed into comfortable silence as they ate their meal.

"Al?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you become a State Alchemist?" Edward asked, Alphonse hewed his food contemplatively for a minute

"After Mother died, and you and Dad had left, I was all alone, I was staying with Winry and Granny Pinako, they had given me Automail, and had restored the use of my arm, but everything was empty, I had no purpose. However, Colonel Roy Mustang visited me after seeing the Transmutation Circle in the basement, he must have guessed what I had done, he suggested to me becoming a State Alchemist, and told me of the valuable information I would have access to. I wanted to restore my body, and find you and Dad, maybe not to make up, but to get all my useless hate.

"And what do you intend to do if you get your arm back?"

"I don't know, move back to Resembool maybe settle down."

"With Winry?"

"Seriously Edward stop." He protested, Edward smiled

"Do you want anything Sweet?" Edward asked seeing that Alphonse had finished his meal

"No, I'm fine thank you." Alphonse said patting his stomach

"Fine, shall we get you back to the Hospital?"

"Oh, ok."

-0-

The next day, Alphonse lay lazily in his bed chatting amicably to Denny and Edward was making a call down the hall, Winry walked in quietly, Denny and Alphonse not noticing her presence, Winry dropped her case and Alphonse and Denny practically self-administered a case of whiplash, she stood gazing with dread at Alphonse's bandaged Automail, flanked by Major Armstrong it was a strange sight.

"Th-That was fast." Alphonse said shocked by the speed of her arrival

"You… Were injured this badly when your Automail broke, because I… Didn't equip it properly right?" Winry said bowing her head in shame, everyone in the room stared at Alphonse including the newly arrived Maria,

"I-It's not your fault or anything!" Alphonse assured her quickly "Besides I'm the one who used it recklessly, and the maintenance was perfect as always and since it was Edward who broke it.

He didn't notice the missing screw? Winry thought

"Yes so really it was Edward's fault so there's no point in blaming yourself" Alphonse added

"So Al-" Said Edward as he walked into the room

"Oh hello Miss Rockbell, and you Major, oh and it's Denny and Maria to how are you." Edward said quickly

"Oh hello." Winry said coldly to Edward

"So yeah, I'll gladly cover Alphonse's bill to get his Automail fixed."

"Yes, you will. So other than to pay for your mistake, why are you still here."

"Winry." Alphonse said quietly

"As charming as ever Miss Rockbell." Edward said with equal chill

"Winry, Edward" Alphonse said louder

"I'm surprised you haven't run off yet."

"I'm surprised you haven't started crying yet." Edward said back

"Winry! Edward! Shut the hell up!" Alphonse yelled at the top of his voice, both of the two looked at Alphonse abashed

"Winry, I've made my peace with Edward and he did save my life," Alphonse scolded Winry "And you Brother, Winry is my friend so don't be cruel to her."

"Yeah, I would like to apologise Miss Rockbell for my tone and phrasing." Edward said a mall smile playing at the corners of his lips that went unnoticed by everyone

"Yes, I'm sorry too." Winry said

"Well then." Denny said nervously from the corner of the room

"We'll be going." Maria added and the two scarpered

"Yo, Al!" Came a shout and Maes Hughes walked passed Maria and Denny into the ward, "So I heard you were kind of occupied after bringing a woman into your room." Maes said with a grin

"She's just my Automail mechanic!" Alphonse protested

"Wow… So you sweet-talked your mechanic, huh…" Maes said thoughtfully, Edward's grin grew wider, "And you are?" Maes said noticing Edward

"My name is Edward Van Hohenheim, and yes I agree completely with everything you just said." He said taking Maes' out stretched hand to shake; he then ducked to avoid both the pillow and the wrench that flew towards his head.

"And you?" Maes asked Winry

"Winry Rockbell." She said puzzled

"Maes Hughes, a pleasure to meet you."

"Won't you get into trouble for ditching work?" Alphonse asked

"No need to worry! I left Sheska with overtime work." He said proud of his plan

"What are you, a Demon?" Alphonse asked knowing how much work Hughes got

"Well anyway, I'll see you tomorrow," Winry said to Alphonse as she picked up her case. "I'm going to find a place to stay for the night."

"What?" Hughes said a hint of mischief in his voice "Then stay at my place!"

"But…" Winry said shocked at the generous offer

"Don't worry about it!" Hughes assured her "My wife and daughter will be delighted!"

"No, but."  
>"All right it's settled!" Hughes said determined<p>

"Huh, wait!" Winry protested as Hughes dragged her out of the door

"Come on, let's go!" He said laughing

"Should I call the police?" Edward asked staring wide eyed at the open door

A/N

I want to make a few things clear.

I am not bashing or will ever bash Winry Rockbell, she is in my opinion a good character, she was not being bashed she was defending Alphonse, the person who Edward had abandoned.

I am not a Al/Winry Shipper, I support Ed/Winry however it wouldn't really work in this story.

Unless people want me to I will not be following up on Edward's mysterious girl, I have a few ideas but it's not at all crucial, so let me know if I should include that sub-plot.

And finally Ed and Al's reunion, it seems to me, that Alphonse seemed a bit too ready to forgive and forget, but I point you in the direction of Al and Hohenheim's reunion in both 2003 and Brotherhood, Alphonse seemed happy enough then.

Any comments please tell me in a review.

P.s I am looking for a Beta reader if anyone is interested please PM me.


End file.
